1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to methods and devices for carrying articles. More particularly, the invention is directed to devices and methods for carrying articles in a backpack wherein the articles can be accessed without removing the backpack from the wearer's body.
Backpacks have become increasingly popular over the years, especially for travel and recreational activities. Numerous variations of the backpack have been developed for carrying articles such as sporting, camping or hunting gear, clothing, books, food and drink, and other belongings. Backpacks are particularly convenient for activities such as walking, hiking, climbing, biking, camping, skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, mountaineering, rock-climbing, hunting, horseback-riding and the like because they free the hands of the user and transfer the load away from the hands, which are easily fatigued. Conventional packs are typically designed to be worn with the carrying compartment on the user's back, because carrying a pack on the front of the user restricts motion and limits the user's activities. Therefore, to gain access to articles contained in the pack, the user must first remove the pack, creating a number of inconveniences for almost any type of activity. Once the pack is removed, at least one hand is required to hold it, leaving only the other hand to open or unzip the pack, access the desired article contained therein, and then juggle the article to zip the pack back up or use the article. Alternatively, the pack must be placed on a stable surface such as a table or the ground to free up a hand to retrieve the article contained within.
For certain activities, the options for accessing objects within the pack are even more cumbersome. For example, skiers, snowboarders, backcountry hikers, etc. may have one or both hands already occupied by carrying ski poles and/or ski gloves or other equipment. Therefore, accessing, using, or consuming an item contained in the pack often requires the user to resort to setting the poles, gloves, and/or backpack down. The above practice is not only burdensome, but when done on a chair lift or on a steep slope, in deep powder or on a windy day, the user risks losing any or all of the set down items. Accordingly, numerous sunglasses, gloves, keys, and other items are lost as a result of the above predicament or lack of proper storage.
Conventional backpacks are also burdensome for skiers or snowboarders because they are not suitable for riding on chairlifts while being worn. When riding on a lift with a backpack, the contents of the pack are susceptible to being crushed against the chair's backrest as the wearer leans back. Additionally, if bulky or numerous items are stored in the pack, the wearer tends to lean forward in the seat, which is not only uncomfortable, but unsafe because it shifts the wearer's center of gravity forward toward the open edge of the chair.
Consequently, there has been a need for a backpack that enables a user access to articles contained therein without removing the pack from the user's body. U.S. Pat. No. 5,779,851 describes a combined day pack/travel pack that has a detachable day pack that may be worn on the front of the user in conjunction with a conventional travel pack on the user's back. While this design allows the user to access articles within the day pack, the pack is unsuitable for many sports activities as its continuous position in front of the wearers torso restricts the wearer's freedom of motion.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,337,934, and 5,657,917 attempt to address this problem by providing a carrying device having pouches that can be flipped from a stowed position on a main pack over the user's shoulders to a position at the front of the user. In the above patents, the pouch is retained in the rear position by hook and loop material. While the aforementioned patents disclose a device that does allow the user to access some of the contents of the backpack without removing the pack, the hook and loop material is inadequate for retaining the pouches in their stowed position during physical activity such as skiing or snowboarding, or for retaining larger compartments containing bulky or heavy articles. Because release of the hook-and loop material is facilitated by loading the opposing sections in opposite directions to cause separation, a hook-and-loop fastening is susceptible to unwanted release due to dynamic loading that naturally occurs during typical activity. Therefore, the aforementioned device is not suitable for physical activity, and is especially not suited to provide access to a large compartment carrying much or all of the backpack's contents.
Alternatively, U.S. Pat. No. 5,437,403 discloses a travel pack that slides around the user's body to allow the user to access articles contained therein. The pack has a compartment connected to two straps, the first strap shaped to circumscribe the waist of the user, and the second strap shaped to extend under the arm on one side of the user and over the shoulder of the opposite side of the user. The pack is moved from the back to the front of the user by sliding the compartment under the arm of the user. Because the compartment must slide between the user's side and arm, it is limited to in shape and size to that can comfortably pass through. Additionally, because the compartment is only held by one strap over the shoulder, it is not very stable for highly physical activity.
Additionally, there is a need for a backpack that allows attachment of large equipment such as a pair of skis or a snowboard without compressing the contents of the backpack. U.S. Pat. No. 5,803,332 is a typical backpack having straps for attaching and carrying large equipment. However, this pack requires that the equipment be strapped to the outside panel of the pack, which is generally less stable than the inner panel adjacent to the wearer's back, and also tends to crush any other articles that may be inside the pack.
In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to provide a convertible backpack that enables a user to access articles contained in the backpack while the backpack is worn on the person. In particular, it would be desirable to provide a convertible backpack that enables a user to move a storage compartment from the user's back to a position at the front of the user without requiring that the backpack be removed or pulled off of the user. Moreover, it would also be desirable to provide a convertible backpack that enables a user to move a carrying compartment from the front of the user to a position on the back of the user and securely retain the compartment in the aft position during high impact activity without motion relative to the user. It would further be desirable to provide a convertible backpack that is capable of holding equipment such as a shovel, snowboard or pair of skis to a panel adjacent to the user's back and between the panel and a storage compartment having articles therein. At least some of these objectives will be met by the present invention.
2. Description of the Background Art
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,337,934, 5,437,403, 5,657,917, 5,779,851, and 5,803,332 have been described above. Other patents of interest include U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,428,514, 4,518,107, 6,010,051, 6,179,175, 6,216,932, and 6,402,003.